Reinforced railroad track structure



Jan. 2, 1968 N. K. Most-:s ETAL 3,361,351

REINFORCED RAILROAD TRACK STRUCTURE Filed Jan. 21, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1A QD TNQ M ATTORNEYS l INVENTORS /VZJ'd/V i Masc-5 n o NY A Kaefer/ffcZw/;

BY Mr 09%/ Jan. 2, 1968 N. K. MOSES ETAL REINFORCED RAILROAD TRACKSTRUCTURE 2 She e-ts-Shee t 75 Filed Jan. 2l, 1966 United States PatentO REINFORCED RAILROAD TRACK STRUCTURE Nelson K. Moses, Ashtabula, Ohio,and Robert A. Mc-

Clung, West Palm Beach, Fla., assgnors to Railroad Permanent WayProducts Corp., Ashtabula, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Filed Jan. 21, 1966, Ser. No. 522,308 Claims. (Cl.23S-25) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A rail track construction of the typefor supporting traction rails and including elongated concrete beamssupported on a sub-graded roadbed of compacted ballast, the elongatedconcrete beams having jack means at least at each end for temporarilysupporting the beams above the roadbed so that the Ibeams can beproperly leveled, and once the beams are leveled, the beams are encasedon their sides and bottom walls by a concrete sla-b poured over thesub-graded roadbed.

The present invention relates to improvements in railroad trackstructures as well as the method of constructing the same.

More particularly, the present invention relates to improvements ofrailroad track structures in which pre-cast elongated concrete beams areused for supporting the track rails. i

In our United States Patent 3,223,328, issued Dec. 14, 1965, there isdisclosed a Track Structure for Railroads or the Like in which pre-castconcrete beams are utilized for supporting traction rails, the beamsbeing tied together by cross beams of concrete. While the disclosure inthe aforementioned patent provides a very capable track structure, thepresent invention is an improvement of such disclosure in that theconstruction of the track structure is simpliiied and reduced in costswithout a loss in structural strength and, thus, the track structure isalso capable of properly supporting railroad rolling stock moving atextremely high speeds, for example speeds in the order of 2G() lmilesper hour.

It has long been an established practice in the construction of trackstructure to support traction rails on Wooden crossties, the crosstiesybeing supported on a roadbed of ballast such as crushed stone or thelike. In more detail, steel tie plates were placed between the woodencrossties and the rails and spikes were driven through the holes in thetie plates into the wooden ties with the head of some of the spikesbearing against the base flange of the rails to hold the rails lupon theties.

More recently, improvements in track construction have been made whereinrubber rail seats are positioned between rails and tie plates. Suchtrack structure cushioned impact loads and reduced the severe anddestructive wear on the tie plates and/or ties. Even further effortshave been made to form the roadbed of poured concrete dening a slab, theconcrete being poured directly over a sub-grade roadbed of ballast orthe like. The rails were then anchored or secured directly to the topsurface of the slab of concrete.

While such prior efforts are improvements over the standard practice ofsupporting traction rails upon wooden crossties with steel tie platespositioned therebetween, they have not been entirely satisfactory from astructural standpoint in providing a track structure capable ofsupporting railroad rolling stock moving at extremely high speeds. Inthe situation where rubber rail seats are used in combination withrails, tie plates and ties, it will be obvious that the impact loads ofhigh speed rolling stock will be too severe and destructive over aIperiod of time and, thus, such a track structure would involve costly3,361,351 Patented Jan. 2, 1968 everyday maintenance. On the other hand,where a solid slab construction for railroad track structure provides abetter foundation support for the rails than just ties and ballast, itsconstruction requires infinitely more workmanship and care. The surfaceof the slab must be finished to the exact level or contour desired andmust have a smooth finish in order to .properly seat the base llange ofthe traction rails. Holes for the track mounting bolts must be drilledwith extreme accuracy using gang drills and jigs. The slightestirregularity in the finish of the upper surface of the poured slab andin the laying of the rail or in faulty workmanship in any degree resultsin costly repairs. If insertion of shims `becomes necessary due toconstruction errors in the top surface of the slab, this will greatlydiminish the strength of hold-down fasteners, thereby reducingeffectiveness of the slab and greatly increasing costs of maintenance.

A principal object orr the present invention is to provide an improvedtrack structure and method of constructing the same which will supporthigh speed rail traffic while obviating the structural defects of priortrack struetures.

Another object of the present invention, is to provide a track structureand a method of constructing the same in which the cost of initialconstruction is materially reduced because of quickness and ease oferecting the track structure in an accurate manner.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved beamconstruction for use in railroad track structures, the pre-cast beamconstruction being capable of accurate positioning in rows and levelingrelative to other beams.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide animproved track structure utilizing pre-cast concrete beams or the likehaving an accurate and smooth traction rail receiving surface, the beamsbeing capable of easy adjustment both from a standpoint of level andgage and then anchored permanently in position by the pouring of aconcrete slab which encases the beams on their bottom and sides.

-Ancillary to the immediately preceding object, it is still a furtherobject of the present invention to provide a trac-k structure utilizingpre-cast elongated concrete beams for supporting the traction rails, thebeams being encased in a concrete slab which includes the area betweenthe beams being iilled with the concrete so as to provide a smooth,generally flat surface across the top of the track structure therebyimproving the aerodynamic flow characteristics between the bottom Iofrailroad rolling stock and the track structure.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will bemore apparent from the following specilication, claims and drawings inwhich:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the track structure of thepresent invention prior t-o the pouring of the concrete slab about theelongated beams;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional View of the track structure of the presentinvention taken substantially on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1, portions ofthe View being broken away and the view further showing the concreteslab after the same has been poured, the beams being shown with the jackbolts still therein;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective View of a gage bar for use in gaging thedistance between parallel beams of the track structure shown in FIGURE2;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a finished portion of track structuremade according to the present invention and illustrating the tractionrails suitably anchored on the elongated beams;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional View taken on the line 5-5 ofFIGURE 4; and,

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the end of one of theelongated concrete beams, the View illustrating the jack means forleveling the upper surface of the beam to a predetermined level bothabout the longitudinal axis of the beam as well as about a horizontalaxis extending transversely of the longitudinal axis of the beam.

The method of constructing the track structure according to the presentinvention may be broadly described as follows. Pre-cast concrete beamswhich may be either prestressed or poststressed as desired, are rstpositioned on a previously prepared sub-grade roadbed of compactedballast such as crushed stone or the like. The beams are temporarilysupported in parallel rows with their lower surface or bottom of eachbeam being spaced above the -upper surface of the sub-grade roadbed.After the beams have been initially positioned in end to endrelationship in spaced rows, the beams are then adjusted so that theirupper surface has an exact and perfect level for reception of the baseflange of the track rail. It will be appreciated that a resilient pad orpads may be inserted between the base ange of the traction rail and thebeam. The adjustment of level may require an adjustment of the beam forheight relative to height of other beams in the same row, as well as anadjustment for proper level of the upper surface of the beam aboutthelongitudinal axis of the beam and/ or about a horizontal axistransverse to the longitudinal axis of the beam. Once the beams havebeen adjusted for level, then the distance between beams of the rows ofbeams is accurately gaged and by use of tie bars the beams are bolted inplace for the exact and permanent gage. In some instances, it may bedesired to gage the distance between the beams of the parallel rowsprior to the adjustment for level of the particular beams and theadjustment for height. Once all of the adjustments of the beamsindividually and in the rows have been made then a -tiller is compactedbeneath the bottom of the beam and the upper surface of the sub-graderoadbed so as to provide a permanent support vfor the beam on thesnb-grade roadbed, the filler being then tilled up along each side ofthe beam to' provide permanent lateral support. It will be noted, thearea between opposed sides of beams in the rows is completely illed withthe filler so that the iillers upper surface is substantially level withthe upper surface of the beams. Preferably, the filler is concrete whichis poured and compacted beneath the beam and then filled in theaforesaid manner between the rows of beams as well as the outside of therows of beams in one pour. The concrete tiller is then let to cure andset and thus form a slab with embedded beams therein. Alternatively, aballast of crushed stone or the like may be used and filler applied insubstantially the same manner.

Once the slab has been poured and set around the beams, the beams arethen ready for the laying of the traction rails. The traction rails maybe gaged with respect to one another in any known manner and thensecured to the beams either with or without resilient pads and/ or tieplates between the base flange of the rails and the upper surface of thebeams., Either standard rail lengths may be used or welded rails `may beused and once the rails have been gaged and then fastened or anchored tothe beams, the track structure is complete and ready for use.

Referring now specifically to FIGURES 1, 2 and 4 of the drawings, thetrack structure of the present invention includes a sub-grade roadbed 10which is usually prepared from ballast of crushed stone which iscompacted. The sub-grade roadbed 10 has its upper surface 12 graded tothe general contour desired. After the sub-grade roadbed 10 has beenprepared, a plurality of pre-cast concrete blocks or pads 14 arediscriminately positioned along the roadbed in the general path of therows of pre-cast concrete beams 16. In more detail, the blocks or pads14 are spaced apart in such a manner that there is at least one blockextending under the abutting ends of adjacent beams 16 with anadditional block positioned under an intermediate portion of a beam. Theblocks 14 are usually embedded into the ballast of compacted stone ofthe subgrade roadbed as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2. A steel bearing plate18 is positioned on the top of each of the blocks 14, the purpose of theplate'lS being described in more detail laterin the speciication.

The elongated concrete beams 16 may be either straight or curveddepending upon their use in the track structure. Of course, where thereis a straight section of track, the beams 16 will be straight and whereit is necessary to have a curved section of track, the beams 1=6 will bepre-cast to the desired radius of the curves. Beams 16, which may bepre-cast at the site of construction or at a nearby plant and thenshipped to the site, may either be prestressed or poststressed asdesired. In fact, in Ysome situations it may be desired not to place anyparticular stress on the beam either before or after casting but to onlyreinforce the beam.

Each concrete beam 16 is elongated and is approximately 39 feet inlength made with its ends 20 flat. The beams are cast having a finishedsmooth upper surface 22 outwardly and downwardly sloping sidewalls 24and 26 and a flat lower or bottom surface v2S. The upper finishedsurface 22 of the beam 16 may be provided with a one inch in 40 inchcant or other as desired, so that the traction rails 30 when supportedon the beams have a cant. The beams 16 are provided, at spaced pointsalong each of their side walls 24 and 26, with depressions or wells 32cast therein, the beam also being provided with a lateral hole 34therethrough having its ends open to opposed depressions or wells 32.

At the time of casting of the beams 16, a non-circular member 35, whichis interiorly threaded, is positioned within the interior of the beam,the non-circular member 35 being a nut or the like. When the beam iscast with the member 35 positioned therein, the hole through the member35 which is interiorly threaded is aligned with a hole 36 also cast inthe beam and extending through the beam from the top surface 22'to thebottom surface 28 thereof. As best shown in FIGURES `2 and 6, a pair ofnuts or members 35 are positioned in the beam 16 adjacent each endthereof with holes 36 Vfor members 35 being Y spaced apart laterally onopposite sides of a vertical plane extending through the longitudinalaxis of the beam. A jack bolt 40 is received in each hole 36 andthreaded through the member 35 so that its lower end 42 extends beneaththe bottom surface 28 of the beam 16'. The jack bolt 40 is provided witha head 44 on its upper end for receiving a tool (not shown) whichpermits the jack bolt to be rotated and moved vertically with respect tothe member or nut 35. A similar arrangement of a pair of members 35 andjack bolts 40 are arranged intermediate the pairs of members and jackbolts at each end of the beam 16 as clearly shown in FIGURE 1.

Additionally, the beam 16 when it is cast may also be cast with holes 46spaced along and in its upper surface for receiving plugs 47 into whichspikes 48 may be driven to hold the traction rail 30 on the'uppersurface of the beam. As shown in FIGURE 5, the base ange of the rail 30may be seated on a resilient pad 50, the pad extending completely alongthe length of the rail or discriminately at intervals along the lengthof the rail.

The beams 16 are positioned in substantially abutting end to endrelationship and in parallel rows on the subgrade roadbed 10 with thelower ends 42 of the jack bolts 40 engaging the steel bearing plates 18carried on the pads or blocks 14. This provides a temporary positioningand supporting of the beams with the next step in the construction ofthe track structure being an accurate adjustment of the beams for gagerelative one to another and for proper level of the upper surface 22thereof. With respect to adjustment for gage, a gage bar 52 (FIGURE 3)having notches 54 therein spaced apart a predetermined gage, is placedwith one of its notches engaging the shank of the inside jack bolt 40 ofthe beam in one of the rows. If the opposite notch 54 of the gage bardoes not engage the oppositely disposed shank of the inner jack bolt 40of the opposite beam then the beams must be moved laterally relative toone another to a position of proper gage. The lateral adjustment forgage is accomplished by a tie bar 56 extending through oppositelydisposed holes 34 in the beams. The tie bar 56 has its opposite endsthreaded and it is arranged to receive nuts 58 and 60 on each side of abeam. The nuts 58 and 60 bear against steel washers or bearing plates 62and, consequently, by suitable adjustments of the nuts 58 and 60, thebeams in the rows can be moved laterally relative one another until theyattain a position of proper gage.

In order to adjust the level of the upper surface 22 of the beams 16 toa predetermined level, the jack bolts 40 are suitably rotated in adesired sequence so that the members 36 raise or lower the particularbeam. If it is desired to orient the beams about their longitudinalaxis, the jack bolts 40 on one side of a vertical plane through thelongitudinal axis of the beam may be rotated relative to the jack boltson the opposite side of the longitudinal axis so as to pivot the beamabout its longitudinal axis. O11 the other hand, if it is desired tolift one end of the beam and lower the other end or vice-versa, thensuitable adjustment is made to one or the other of the pairs of jackbolts in opposite ends of the beams. It will also be understood that ifa particular beam needs to be elevated or lowered in its entirety, allof the jack bolts are rotated a predetermined amount to obtain thedesired raising or lowering of the beam.

While the description above with regard to the adjustment for gage andfor leveling of the beams has been described with the gage adjustmentbeing made first, it will be appreciated that in certain instances itmay be desirable to reverse the procedure and adjust the upper surfacesof the beam for proper level and adjust the rows of beams for propergage.

After the beams 16 have been adjusted for proper gage and level asdescribed above, then a filler F is compacted into the area beneath thebottom surface 28 of the beams 16 and the upper surface of the subgraderoadbed 10 and is filled up along the opposed sidewalls of the beams aswell as along the outside sidewalls of the beams until it issubstantially level with the top surface 22 of the beams. Preferably thefiller is concrete which is poured in a single pour into the areabeneath the beams as well as the area between the rows of beams andoutside of the beams, the concrete being let to cure or set and thusanchor the beams in accurate position for receiving the traction rails30. When the concrete is poured as a filler, a gutter G (FIGURE 2) canbe provided in the top surface of the slab formed by the concrete, thegutter extending longitudinally of the slab between the rows of beams.Suitable outlets can be provided to the outside of the track structurefor draining water or the like from the track structure.

By having the slab formed by the ller substantially level with the topsurface of the beams 22, a substantially smooth surface is provided forthe track structure thus enhancing the aerodynamic ow characteristicsbetween the bottom of rolling stock and the track structure by loweringthe drag created by turbulence.

While it is mentioned above that the ller F is preferably concrete, itmay also be ballast similar to the ballast used in the subgrade roadbed,the ballast being compacted underneath the beams to provide good supporttherefor as well as between the rows of beams and on the outside of therows of beams. The ballast will provide a strong track structure but theslab of concrete formed as a ller provides an even stronger trackstructure. Once the beams 16 have been permanently set in the filler F,then the jack bolts 40 may be removed from the nuts or members 35 andused on other beams. Of course, the tie bars 56 remain embedded in thefiller and thus firmly anchor the gage of the beams. The holes 36 remainafter the jack bolts 40 are removed and are suitably lled with a fillersuch as ground rock, plastic, or the like. This prevents water drainingdown through the holes in the beams and possibly accumulating in thesubgrade roadbed.

After the beams 16 have been anchored in the filler F and the jack bolts40 removed therefrom, the traction rails 30 may then be laid andfastened to the beams in any suitable manner.

The novel track structure beam for use in such track structure andmethod of constructing such track struc ture described and illustratedin the drawings fully and effectively accomplish the objects andadvantages of the present invention. However, it will be understood thatcertain moditications to either the track structure, beam, or method maybe made without departing from the principles and spirit of the presentinvention.

Therefore, the terminology used throughout the specification is for thepurpose of description and not limitation, the scope of the inventionbeing described in the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a rail track construction for supporting traction rails, thecombination comprising: a sub-grade roadbed of compacted ballast; spacedrows of elongated concrete beams; jack means at least at each end ofeach of said beams for adjustably and temporarily supporting each ofsaid beams with their lower surfaces spaced above the surface of thesubegrade roadbed; and a concrete slab encasing the spaced beams ontheir sides and bottom walls, said slab being substantially level withthe top surface of said beams.

2. A track construction as claimed in claim 1 in which each of said jackmeans includes a jack bolt extending substantially vertically throughthe beam, said bolt having a lower ground engaging end extending beneaththe lower surface of the beam and an upper tool engaging end extendingabove the upper surface of the beam, and means fixed relative to thebeam for threadedly receiving said jack bolt and raising or lowering thebeam when said bolt -is rotated.

3. A track construction as claimed in claim 2 in which said lastmentioned means includes an inteorly threaded non-circular memberembedded in the beam.

4. A track construction as claimed in claim 2 including a bearing platepositioned on said sub-grade roadbed for engaging the ground engagingend of said jack bolt.

5. A track construction as claimed in claim 1 in which said concreteslab includes a drain gutter in its upper surface and extendinggenerally parallel to and betaween the rows of concrete beams.

6. A track construction as claimed in claim 1 including tie barsextending between and through oppositely disposed beams of the rows,each of said tie bars having its ends threaded, a bearing washer on eachend of each tie bar and engaging the side of one of the beams, and a nutthreaded onto each of the ends of said tie bars whereby the beams insaid rows may be adjusted laterally relative one another while they aretemporarily supported by said jack means.

7. A pre-cast elongated concrete beam for use in supporting tractionrails, said beam having a smooth upper surface for reception of the baseflange of the traction rail, jack means provided at least adjacent eachof the ends of the beam, said jack means being capable of temporarilysupporting and adjustably positioning the beam so that its upper surfaceis at a predetermined desired level, each of said jack means includingan exteriorly threaded jack bolt extending substantially verticallythrough a hole in the beam and means fixed relative to said beam forthreadedly receiving said jack bolt and adjustably raising and loweringthe beam when said jack bolt is rotated.

8. A pre-cast elongated concrete beam for use in supporting tract-ionrails, said beam having a smooth upper surface for reception of the baseange of the traction rail, a pair of jack bolts extending substantiallyvertically through holes in said beam adjacent one end thereof, saidjack bolts being spaced laterally of said beam on opposite sides of avertical plane extending through the longitudinal axis of said beam, apair of interiorly threaded members xed relative to said beam forthreadedly receiving said pair of jack bolts, a second pair of jackbolts extending through said beam adjacent the other end of the beam,said second pair of jack bolts being spaced transversely of said beam onopposite sides of the vertical plane through the longitudinal axis 0fsaid beam, and a second pair of interiorly threaded members iiXedrelative to said beam for threadedly receiving said second pair of jackbolts.

9. A pre-cast elongated concrete beam as claimed in claim 8 in whichsaid rst pair and said second pair of interiorly threaded members areeach a nut embedded in said concrete.

10. A pre-cast elongated concrete beam as claimed in claim 8 includingjack means carried by said beam intermediate said rst pair and saidsecond pair of jack bolts.

No references cited.

ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner.

R. A. BERTSCH, Assistant Examiner.

